The present invention relates to an optical connector for coupling one optical fiber wire with another optical fiber wire in physical contact.
A method for connecting optical fiber cables includes a so-called physical contact (PC) coupling method for optically coupling optical fiber wires by bringing the end of one optical fiber wire into physical contact with the end of another optical fiber wire. As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional optical connector used in this coupling method comprises a coupling member 2 including a given number of small holes 1. For example, each of the small holes 1 has an inner diameter of 0.126 mm which is slightly larger than the outer diameter, e.g. 0.125 mm, of an optical fiber wire 3. The coupling member 2 is also formed with a guide potion 4 around each periphery of both ends of the small hole 1. The guide portion 4 slants in the direction to widen the small hole 1.
For coupling the optical fiber wires 3, 3xe2x80x2 in the above structure, the optical fiber wires 3, 3xe2x80x2 each held in a cantilever manner are inserted into the small hole 1 while aligning each of the axes of the optical fiber wires 3, 3xe2x80x2 with the axis of the small hole 1 to bring respective one ends of the optical fiber wires 3, 3xe2x80x2 into physical contact with each other.
In the conventional optical connector described above, when connecting optical fiber cables, it has been necessary to align the axis of the small hole 1 and the axis of the optical fiber wire 3 with each other. However, the conventional optical connector comes with difficulty aligning the axes with each other because the inner diameter of the small hole 1 is larger than the outer diameter of the optical fiber wire 3 and the optical fiber wire 3 is held in a cantilever manner. This has caused a problem of difficulty in enhancing the coupling accuracy between the optical fiber wires 3, 3xe2x80x2. Further, in order to achieve an optimal alignment between the respective axes, each of associated components is required to have higher dimensional accuracy, resulting in various troubles in manufacturing processes.
The present invention is directed to solve the above problem. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved optical connector capable of connecting optical cables readily with enhanced accuracy.
The present invention provides an optical connector for coupling one optical fiber wire with another optical fiber wire in physical contact. The optical connector comprises a receiving portion including a support region adapted to support an optical fiber wire along the axis of the receiving portion. The axis of the receiving portion is offset from the axis of the optical fiber wire in a posture of being ready to be inserted into the receiving portion.
Preferably, the receiving portion includes a guide region which is provided at the end thereof and on an extension of the axis of the optical fiber wire in the posture of being ready to be inserted into the receiving portion. The guide region slants in the direction to widen the receiving portion. Further, the support region may be formed in a V-shaped section.
According to the above structure, when the optical fiber wire is inserted into the receiving portion, the inserted optical fiber wire is brought into contact with and bent by the guide region, and then the optical fiber wire is slidably moved along the support region of the receiving portion. Finally, with keeping the optical fiber wire to be supported by the support region, the end of the optical fiber wire is brought into physical contact with the end of another optical fiber wire.